Plein Air Tuesday - 9/24/24 -- Schnebly Hill Road Trail - Day 1

Suzette and I arrived first.  It turned out to be super windy, so we decided to explore to see if we could find any location where all our stuff wouldn't be blown over.

While we were exploring, others started to show up.

Betty, Suzette

I know from the back you probably don't recognize her with her long flowing hair - but that's Betty, back from her extended trip to Europe.  (She had a good time).

Oh, here's a better picture of her

Betty

Next, Suzie came strolling in.

Suzie

Then Denise who's still with us for another month.

Denise

There she is with a big wave and a smile 👋

Suzette became curious about this woman she saw walking around and sort of staying close to the parking area.  I had seen her but this area gets a lot of tourists that stop by briefly and I thought she was one of them.  Well, Suzette called out to her "are you here for plein air painting?"  What do you know, she responded in the positive.  It was Eileen who learned about us from Sandy (by the way Sandy, everyone's always asking about you).

Eileen (the New Girl) and Suzette

So, how about that, we have another New Girl!  Then I saw another recognizable face walking our way.

Nita2

It was Nita2 and she was right on time at 8:59:57 -- can't get much closer than that.

There was a bit of looking and deliberating going on.

Denise & Suzie

But, we weren't done yet.  I did see Mike pull in, wasn't quick enough to catch a photo and then he disappeared!!!  Well, on to the rest of who I was lucky enough to capture.

Nori in her bright orange top

Can't leave out our wanderer as she wandered.

Sophie, the wanderer

Still wandering and maybe deciding.

That was it -- that was Sophie's spot!!

Sophie in her spot

Suzie took a spot near a picnic table and that black bag on the seat on the right is mine -- so my spot.

Suzie

Nita2 found a spot nearby.

Nita2

Here's some perspective of that spot and gee, look at the shadows -- I should've made where I took this photo from my spot - oh well!

In the background is Nita2

The New Girl, Eileen, took advantage of another of those picnic tables and that's Denise standing behind her in her spot.

(L to R) Denise, Eileen the New Girl

So, this next pic is really quite interesting, you might think it's just 2 of the artists standing and painting in their spots, but you have to look close and you might make a discovery about one of them.

(L to R) Nori, Suzette

Do you see what I'm talking about??  Ok, I'm taking a leap here 😉😉 (can you see it now??), I'm thinking just maybe we have a former ballerina in our midst. Check out her foot positions.   Is that so Nori??

She'll have to let us know!

I had looked earlier for Mike & Betty but I couldn't find them.  Well once  everyone started to pack up, I had to venture in the other direction with the hopes of encountering them.  I found Mike first

Mike - I recognized his setup

And, while still looking for Betty (whose spot I never found), I found this person instead.

Pat -  I know could I be any further away??

Well, at  least I was right in guessing  it was Pat.  But, it turns out that still isn't the end of artist encounters.  When I got back to my spot I noticed someone who I thought I recognized.   Look ...

Bob

Yes, Bob has returned from a fun filled and long vacation -- welcome back Bob!!

Well, I don't know about you, but I've lost count -- let's see, it looks like there were 12 of us this day, good thing several chose spots close together even though I never found Betty's.

I know, hard to see - well I promised last week I'd do better, so here goes, but that also means that you'll see some them more than once.

For those of you who counted, yes, you're correct, there is one missing but it was their choice. Too bad as it was a great painting but apparently you had to be there to see it ---- so, you know what that means... You have to show up!

Well, my headcount was correct, of course, I cheated as I looked at the group photo to get my number.  Of course, I only counted those who smiled on 2 😊  Oh, for those who were there - it was 4.

(Weaving in and out - Standing)
Sophie, Suzie, Eileen (New Girl), Bob, Denise, Nori, Mike, Suzette, Nita2, Pat
Stooped down front row -- Me & Betty

Hey, not bad for as windy as it was when we started -- thought for sure we'd have flying paintings.  But, it all worked out well and we all decided it was worth a Day 2, so see you next week!

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - 9/17/24 - Tuzi RAP

 

Suzette, Nita2 and I arrived first and were all set to head off 

(L To R) Suzette, Nita2

When the big Red Jeep pulled in

Red Jeep

And if you take a close look you'll see Mike in the driver seat. -- Oh dear, I didn't get his mug.

Knowing that the only newbie to the place was already with us (Nita2), we headed on down the trail to the water.  I did stop to revisit that old tree where Linda's grandkids once sat - well, not only is it gone, but the whole area is very very different from what we were used to.  That big beach like sandy area is totally changed and difficult to get to, besides there not being much of it.

The tree minus the big overhanging limb

Same tree with "Linda's Doppelganger's" grandchild

Another unrecognizable spot

Well, anyway, we all had to do some exploring and this next pic is the last I saw of Suzette until we met up at the end.

Suzette off into the great unknown!

Oh Look, there's Mike talking to someone wearing a hat ...  you really have to take a close look to see Mike.

Blue shirt with hat & Mike seated

I know -- all of these pictures don't do the artists justice, but there were a lot of GREEN trees and stuff in between me and whoever I was taking pics of.

It was Tecla

I guess if you didn't know Tecla, you wouldn't be able to tell it's her -- but we all know her!

Look, here comes someone else -- 

Nori

Yes, Nori came to join us as well.  Oh as you can see, we also all seemed to start off the morning with little lightweight jackets on.  Drastic change from previous weeks.

Pat

Then I found this person (Pat) in the middle of "stuff". Again, this was part of the area that used to be a bit beach like.

But that wasn't all of them -- as there were still comings and goings.

(L to R) Gail coming our way and Nori going another way

Oh, I did manage to get a pic of Tecla in her spot -- check it out.

Tecla and yet more "stuff"

Good thing she was wearing that light blue, otherwise I would've never seen her!  While I was still exploring and visiting I found Kristen in her spot.

Kristen

The girl is always smiling -- she gives everyone the most cheery greeting!  She clearly enjoys what she's doing.

Here's Mike in his spot and he was just over from Tecla.  My spot was also near there.

Mike seated and Tecla standing

Well, would you look at that!  The real Wanderer arrived.

Sophie the Wanderer

I think she was a bit shocked to see what the place looks like now.  Though it is still pretty in its own way.

The next person showed up and said "Gee, you guys are all early - we were supposed to meet at 8:00, right 😉😉.  Bet you all can guess who it was -- TimeStamp 8:00 am (meet up time was 7:30, but not too bad for her).

Nita1

She also always smiles a lot.  Gee we've really got a cheery group.  Certainly makes for a very pleasant and fun Tuesday morning!

Nita1 didn't waste any time, picked a spot real quick and got to work.  After all, you know she has to do a minimum of 2 - 3 paintings in less time than the rest of us! Here she is in her spot.

Nita1 in her spot

Boy, I had better start getting a bit better with my picture taking because most of these are really not close enough.

Here's Pat in her spot.

Pat

Pat was in such a hurry to get there that morning that she remembered everything except her brushes.  Oh dear!!  Fortunately, I had plenty with me, so enough to share.

Before I forget, you have to see Sophie in her spot.  I had to ask her how she got there because I noticed her feet didn't look wet.

Sophie in her spot

In case you were wondering -- her reply was "I jumped" -- I'm impressed!

Here's Gail in her spot discussing her painting with Kristen.

(L to R) Kristen, Gail

Oh, that was also Gail's new pochade box that she found she had to modify - sawed off a piece to make getting to the palette easier.

In the midst of painting Tecla decided to take a break and watch the river flow by -- it is a peaceful scene.

Tecla by the water

Tecla and what she was looking at

Also if you look at the first one of Tecla by the water you'll see the easel closest to her was hers and the one next to that with that black bag was mine - so that was my spot.

Oops, almost missed this one -- here's Nita2 in her spot!

Nita2

Finally, the return of the great adventurer!

Suzette returns from the great unknown

And, what do you know - it was just in time to start building our gallery.  I failed to mention that it got quite windy and I did quite a bit of searching and debating trying to determine just where the gallery could safely be set up without being blown away.  But, we found it along a major branch that was lying flat on the ground.

I know, I probably should've split it in two to make it a bit more viewable, but as you can see everyone worked very hard to come up with a really great painting - we even had some visitors come by and give compliments.

So, wind blown but happy, we all gathered together and smiled on 2

Back Row - Mike, Suzette, Nita2, Kristen, Gail, Nita, Sophie
Front Row - Pat, Nori, Tecla, Me

Well, that's all for now -- till next week!

Cecilia